In his acceptance speech, received with a standing ovation, Mr Santos described the award as a "gift from heaven" and dedicated it to all Colombians, particularly the 220,000 killed and 8 million displaced in the longest-running conflict in the Western Hemisphere.

"With this agreement, we can say that the American continent from Alaska to Patagonia is a land in peace," the President said in Oslo's City Hall.

In his speech, Mr Santos said that the peace accord offered a "ray of hope" for solving conflicts in Syria and South Sudan.

"The Colombian peace agreement is a ray of hope in a world troubled by so many conflicts and so much intolerance," he said, saying a US academic study called it the most comprehensive of 34 peace accords signed in the past three decades.

"It proves that what, at first, seems impossible, through perseverance may become possible even in Syria or Yemen or South Sudan."

Dylan receives standing ovation despite absence

Mr Santos quoted what he called a "haunting question" from one of Bob Dylan's — the 2016 Literature Laureate — most famous songs.

The Nobel prizes at a glance:

Nobel Peace PrizeColombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to end his country's civil war after five decades of bloodshed.

Nobel Prize in LiteratureSinger-songwriter Bob Dylan for having created what the Swedish Academy described as "new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition." Dylan isn't attending the ceremony.

Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic SciencesOliver Hart and Bengt Holmstrom for their contributions to contract theory, a field of research applicable to anything from CEO bonuses to the deductibles and co-pays for insurance.

Nobel Prize in ChemistryFrenchman Jean-Pierre Sauvage, British-born Fraser Stoddart and Dutch scientist Bernard "Ben" Feringa for work on tiny molecular machines that scientists say can lead to new computer chips, batteries and energy storage systems.

Nobel Prize in PhysicsBritish-born scientists David Thouless, Duncan Haldane and Michael Kosterlitz for research on superconductors and other unusual states of matter, which the judges said could pave the way for developments in electronics and quantum computers.

Nobel Prize in MedicineJapanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi for discoveries related to autophagy, the "self-eating" process that lets a cell break down and recycle some of its contents. Breakdowns in the autophagy process have been linked to a number of grave diseases including Parkinson's, diabetes and cancer.

"How many deaths will it take 'till he knows that too many people have died? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind."

The other 2016 prizes — for Literature, Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Economics — were later presented in Stockholm.

Dylan had previously said he would not attend citing "pre-existing commitments" drawing criticism from Swedish press — the Nobel Foundation said his prize should be presented to him sometime in 2017.

However, the crowd still gave Dylan a standing ovation after a Swedish Academy member praised his work in a presentation speech.

American singer-songwriter Patti Smith then performed a rendition of Dylan's famed song A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall.

Officials have said a thank-you speech from Dylan would be read at a gala banquet later in the evening (local time).